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Communications Law Research

I. Introduction

This guide is intended as a starting point for research in U.S. communications law at Georgetown Law Library. It includes both primary and secondary materials, in both print and electronic formats. Communications law covers a variety of issues - media law, First Amendment, cable and broadcasting law, computer law, and telecommunications. This guide will try to cover all these areas.

If you have questions please feel free to contact the Library's Reference Desk, at 202-662-9140 or by email: libref@law.georgetown.edu.

II. How to Begin Your Communications Law Research

A. Treatises

Books are often excellent places to start your research. You can find a discussion of the law and citations to leading cases and relevant regulations. Below are a few of the treatises available in the Georgetown Law Library:

1. Stuart N. Brotman, Communications Law and Practice KF2765 .H36 1995

Looseleaf for updating at least once per year. Overview of broadcast, telephone, satellite and cable regulation.

2. Jerry Kang, Communications Law and Policy: Cases and Materials KF2750 .A7 K36 2005

3. Harvey L. Zuckman et al., Modern Communications Law KF2760 .A7 L583 1999

Overview of the many aspects of communications law: media law, First Amendment, telecommunications, cable television, broadcasting, and radio spectrum.

4. Communications Law (Practising Law Institute) KF4774 .C645

Deals with freedom of the press, libel and slander. Updated annually.

To find additional books on your topic, search the library catalog http://gull.georgetown.edu . For tips on effective search, read our GULLiver guide http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/guides/gulliver.cfm . Keyword searching is usually the best way to start your search for legal treatises. If you want to search by subject heading, try the following subject headings:

  • Telecommunication - Law and legislation - United States
  • Mass media - Law and legislation - United States
  • Press law - United States

B. Journal Articles

Journal articles also provide discussion of the law and citations to leading cases and relevant regulations. They are often more up-to-date and sometimes provide greater detail on narrower topics than books.

Online sources are the most effective tools for locating recent articles. You can use Lexis or Westlaw, for the full text of many (but NOT all) law journals, or you can use online indexes from the Library's homepage to get citations for articles in just about all legal journals. For a complete guide on how to find journal articles, consult "Finding Journal Articles" research guide on the Law Library web site http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/guides/articles.cfm.

1. Lexis and Westlaw

Both Lexis and Westlaw include selected communications law journals in full text. Generally they do not have articles before 1985, but coverage varies by journal. The advantages of searching on Lexis and Westlaw is that you can access Lexis or Westlaw from anywhere and have the full text of the articles right there. The main disadvantage is lack of coverage: you will not find articles more than 10 or 15 years old, and you won't be searching in all journals, just selected ones.

2. Law Journal Indexes

Coverage: both Index to Legal Periodicals and Legal Resource Index begin in 1980 and cover almost all legal journals.

Where to Search: Use either index. They have a lot of overlap, but for a very thorough search, use both. You can access them from the Library's web site at http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/connect/journal_indexes.cfm

How to Search: You can search by keywords - just enter them without connectors. You can also search for a specific author if you want, and if you know the title of an article you can search that way, too.

Advantages and Disadvantages: The main advantage is coverage: you are searching all journals, back to 1980. The drawback is that you don't have the full text, just citations.

3. Communications Journal Databases
  • ComAbstracts (Communication Insitute for Online Scholarship) (1970-) On-Campus Access only
    Bibliographic database providing abstracts to articles from over 80 communication journals (including a few European and Australian journals). Coverage includes communications-related disciplines: human communication studies, speech communication, rhetoric, journalism, mass communications, etc.
  • Communication & Mass Media Complete On-Campus Access only
    This database provides full-text access to about 200 journals in the area of communication and mass media, as well as citation coverage for addtional sources.
  • ProQuest Telecommunications On-Campus only
    This database includes over 100 telecommunications industry publications, such as magazines, journals, and newsletters for this industry. (1986-)
  • ABI/Inform
    Indexes and abstracts to articles in 1300 business and management publications, with varying coverage, some citations dating back to the 1970s. Includes 350 titles from outside the U.S. Also contains full-text articles from more than 600 sources. Many sources available from Communications & Mass Media Complete are also available from this database.
  • ProQuest Research Library
    Indexes and abstracts to articles in more than 1800 general publications, with varying coverage dates, most beginning in the late 1980's. Also, complete articles from approximately 200 popular periodicals. Many but not all sources available in ProQuest Telecommunications are available in this database.
  • Academic Search Premier
    Provides full text fro 3,467 publications covering academic areas of study including social sciences, humanities, education, and liquistics, arts and literature, medical sciences, and ethnic studies.
4. How to Access Journal Articles

If you are using an index that includes only citations, you will need to get the full text of your articles. Search the Library's catalog, GULLiver, to see if we have it. We have almost all scholarly legal journals. The current issues are at the Circulation Desk and the older ones are on the 3rd Floor West.

The library also subscribes to many mega-databases which include full-text journal articles, some even in pdf format. You may use the E-Journal Finder to find electronic journals available either in various mega-databases or directly through different publishers. You can type the title of the journal (not the article) you wish to retrieve, click the resulting search results to connect to the electronic version of that journal and open the right issue to retrieve your article.

If you need an article from a journal that the Library does not have, contact the Reference Desk. We can help you find a library that does have it. You can also request the article on Interlibrary Loan http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/services/ill/index.cfm.

5. Major Communications Law Journals
  • CommLaw Conspectus: Journal of Communications Law and Policy, (1993-)K3 .O387

    Lexis: Communications > Law Reviews & Journals > CommLaw Conspectus (1993- )
    Westlaw: COMLCON (1993- )

  • Communications and the Law, (1979-)K4 .O614

    Electronic, 1979-2003 (GULC Community only)

  • Federal Communications Law Journal, (1977-)K6 .E323

    Lexis: Communications > Law Reviews & Journals > Federal Communications Law Journal (July 1984- )
    Westlaw: FCLJ (1983- )

  • Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal, 1990- (continues Comm/Ent, 1977-1990)K8 .A868

    Lexis: Legal > Secondary Legal > Law Reviews & Journals > Individual Law Reviews & Journals > G - I > Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal (Summer 1998- )
    Westlaw: COMENT, 1993

  • Information and Communications Technology Law, (1996-)K9 .N427

    Electronic, 2000- (GULC Community only)

C. Loose-Leaf Services

Loose-leaf services are also good places to start, because they compile both primary and secondary materials in one place. The following are some helpful loose-leaf services available from the Georgetown Law Library.

1. Pike & Fischer Communications Regulation (a continuation of Pike & Fischer Radio Regulation and Radio Regulation Second Series), updated weekly
, KF2810 A6 P53, also available online as Communications Regulation Online

a. Arrangement. Pike & Fischer Communications Regulation has four main parts: (1) the "Current Service," (2) the "Digest," (3) the "Cases," and (4) the "Finding Aids/Master Index" volume. The Current Service includes a statutes and treaties volume, which provides the text of federal statutes and international agreements relating to communications law, and several volumes of FCC rules and Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs). The Digest provides summaries of, and citations to, FCC decisions (including both administrative law judge proceedings and "Reports and Orders" in docketed rulemaking actions) and court cases about communications law. These summaries are arranged into a topical outline with classification numbers to make finding cases by subject easier. The Cases volumes contain the full text of the FCC decisions and court cases summarized in the Digest volumes. The Finding Aids volume contains a subject index (the "Master Index") and several finding lists, including tables of decisions arranged by case name and by FCC document number, and a list of current FCC forms.

b. Subject searching. To find decisions, cases, regulations, and statutes by subject, you should begin by searching the Master Index. When you look under a term related to your issue, you will be referred to a subject classification number (e.g., 73.3555(J)). Next, look for that classification number in the Current Service volumes (to find relevant regulations, NPRMs, statutes, and treaties) and in the Digest (to find summaries of relevant cases). It is possible to find information under a particular classification number in the Digest only, in the Current Service only, or in both. Master Index references that begin with letters refer to statutes or treaties in the Statutes/Treaties volume of the Current Service (e.g., "CA.613" means Communications Act of 1934, section 613 in the Statutes/Treaties volume), and to Digest summaries of decisions and cases that discuss that statute or treaty section. After you have viewed the Digest summaries (if any) provided under the classification number you obtained from the Master Index, you should check the "Digest Supplement" at the beginning of the appropriate Digest volume for references to later decisions or cases which may not yet have been integrated into the Digest.

c. Understanding citations in the Digest. The Digest uses abbreviations in its case citations which may be unfamiliar to you. All citations in the Digest are to parts of Pike & Fischer Communications Regulation or to its predecessor publications, Radio Regulation and Radio Regulation Second Series. Therefore, if you see the citation "6 CR 978" in the Digest, it refers to volume 6, page 978 of Communications Regulation's Case volumes. The citation 29 RR2d 1076 refers to volume 29, page 1076 of Radio Regulation Second Series' Case volumes.

2. Pike & Fischer Internet Law & Regulation KF2763.4 .I58 1999

Pike & Fischer Internet Law & Regulation is divided into three sets of volumes: "Laws & Policy," "Cases," and "Digest" volumes.

  • The Laws & Policy volumes provide the full text of "primary documents that create the framework for Internet governance." ILR (P&F) Laws & Policy page 7. These primary materials include U.S. federal statutes and regulations, representative U.S. state laws, European Union directives, selected non-U.S. statutes, and important non-governmental policy documents (e.g., NIST/ISO standards, uniform laws, and non-governmental organization-issued guidelines). The Laws & Policy volumes are divided into several subjects, including "Criminal Liability," "Freedom of Speech," "Internet Commerce" and others. Each subject section begins with a table of contents to the primary materials and explanatory articles written by subject experts. The last volume of Laws & Policy also includes a subject index to the entire service, including the Digest (see below).

  • The Cases volumes include the full text of cases from U.S. federal and state courts, courts of other countries, decisions of U.S. federal agencies, and selected court pleadings from major cases.

  • The Digest volumes provide summaries of and citations to the cases reprinted in the Cases volumes, arranged into a topical outline with classification numbers. You can find references to appropriate classification numbers by looking up keywords in the service's subject index (found in the last volume of "Laws & Policy").

III. Current Awareness

It is crucial when practicing or researching in heavily regulated areas of law such as communications to keep on top of new developments. A few of the tools available for doing so are listed below.

  • FCC Daily Digest provides a brief synopsis of Commission orders, news releases, speeches, public notices and all other FCC documents that are released each business day.
  • Headlines is the best source for up-to-the-minute status and links to the latest and highest profile items at the Commission, and for other important notices.
  • Communications Daily (The daily newsletter covers telecommunications, broadcasting, cable televisions, and the electronic media) KF 2761 .A3 C6;
    Current and Previous Month Binder at Ref Loose Leaf; (1997-)

    • Lexis: Legal > Area of Law - by Topic > Communications > General News > Communications Daily (Jan 1984- )
    • Westlaw: COMMD (1991- )

  • Media Law Reporter (BNA) publishes U.S. Supreme Court and selected state and lower federal court decisions on all aspects of media law, including First Amendment, broadcast and cable regulation, and entertainment law. KF2750 .A513


  • Technology Daily (National Journal)
    http://nationaljournal.com/pubs/techdaily/
    • Technology Daily is a subscription database available only to the GULC community.
    • It provides daily update on information technology politics and policies. The Bill Status section of this publication summarizes technology-related bills introduced each day, with links to the full-text of the bills. You can view by House or Senate bill numbers, or by topic. The archive goes back to the 106th Congress. The publication also includes a concise glossary of legislative terms, and a glossary of technology and tech policy terms.
    • You can sign up for email alerts which provides a brief summary of the day's top stories.

  • Telecom Law Blog (published by Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)
    http://www.telecomlawblog.com/

IV. Legislation

A. United States Code

B. Federal Communications Commission Decisions

  • EDOCS at FCC site http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/SilverStream/Pages/edocs.html "EDOCS lets you search a database of Daily Digest entries for FCC documents posted to the FCC web site since March 1996. The query searches on words and numbers that appeared in the Daily Digest title and in the description for each document, not on the full text of each document. EDOCS has two search modules: quick and advanced ."

  • Daily Digest at FCC site http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Digest/2005/ (from 1994, searchable, and browseable by date)

  • FCC Record: A Comprehensive Compilation of Decisions, Reports, Public Notices and Other Documents of the Federal Communications Commission of the United States, KF2765.1 .A55

  • Pike & Fischer Communications Regulation, available electronically at [http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/connect/comm_reg.cfm] (GULC community only)

  • Lexis: Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > Communications > Administrative Materials & Regulations > Federal > Federal Communications Commission Decisions (from March 13, 1939; FCC Daily Digest from August 3, 1989)

  • Westlaw: FCOM-FCC (from 1965); FCC Daily Digest on FCOM-DIGEST (from January 1994)

FCC Document Numbering System. In the course of your research, you will encounter different types of document numbers. Here are some explanations:

  • FCC number (e.g. FCC-99-123): assigned to decisions/documents issued by the authority of the entire Commission, with each Commissioner voting. A FCC number is comprised of two digits indicating the year, and a number of up to 3 digits indicating the sequence.

  • DA number (e.g. DA-99-123): assigned to decisions/documents issued by authority delegated to the Bureaus and Offices by the Commission. A DA number is comprised of two digits indicating the year, and a number of up to 3 digits indicating the sequence.

  • Docket number (e.g. 83-593, WT 99-123): FCC actions that are related to a specific policy initiative called "a docketed proceeding" are assigned the same docket number assigned to the first proceeding. A docket number is comprised of two digits indicating the year, and a number of up to 3 digits indicating the sequence. Sometimes the initials of the initiating bureau are put at the beginning of a docket number. The initials are: CG for Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, EB for Enforcement Bureau, IB for International Bureau, MB for Media Bureau, WT for Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, WC for Wireline Competition Bureau.

  • Rulemaking number (e.g. RM-5667)

  • Report number (e.g. Report No. 982): Assigned to public notices which are issued on a regular schedule are assigned a sequential report number.

  • Federal Register Citation (e.g. 65 FR 2341): The FCC publishes summaries of decisions and other notices in the Federal Register. The first number is the volume, FR stands for Federal Register, and the last number is the page on which the decision or notice begins.

  • FCC Record Citation (e.g. 19 FCCR 231): FCC Record is the official publication of FCC decisions and other documents. It continues FCC Reports, 2nd Series (FCC 2nd). The first number is the volume number, the last number the page on which the decision or notice begins.

  • If you have the FR or FCCR citation, you can easily retrieve the documents in Federal Register (print, online on Lexis or Westlaw or on GPO Access); FCC Record (print, online on Lexis and Westlaw); FCC Web site; Pike & Fischer (print, part online on Lexis).

  • If you have the Docket Number, Rulemaking number, FCC number, or DA number, you can easily retrieve the documents in: FCC Web site, Pike & Fischer (print, partly online on Lexis); FCC Record (print - use the index, online on Lexis and Westlaw); Federal Register (online on Lexis or Westlaw) or you can browse the print version of Federal Register which is not very efficient. Once you find them on the FCC web site, you will find the FCC Record citation or/and Federal Register citation if they are published in either or in both.

C. State Administrative Regulations

  • Lexis: Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > Communications > Administrative Materials & Regulations > State > Administrative Codes (Regulations)
  • Westlaw: All Databases > U.S. State Materials > Administrative & Executive Materials > Administrative Codes - Individual States

D. State Public Utilities Commission Decisions

  • Lexis: Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > Communications > Administrative Materials & Regulations > State > Agency Decisions
  • Westlaw: PUR (includes both court and administrative agency decisions)

VI. Case Law

A. Federal Court Decisions

  • Lexis: Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > Communications > Cases > Federal > Communications cases, Federal.

  • Westlaw: FCOM-CS, includes Supreme Court cases (FCOM-SCT), Courts of Appeals (FCOM-CTA), District Courts (FCOM-DCT)

  • Pike & Fischer Communications Regulation, KF2810 A6 P53
  • Media Law Reporter (BNA), Publishes U.S. Supreme Court and selected state and lower federal court decisions on all aspects of media law, including First Amendment, broadcast and cable regulation, and entertainment law KF2750 .A513

B. State Court Decisions

  • Lexis: Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > Communications > Cases > State > State Communications Cases, All
  • Westlaw: PUR (includes both court and administrative agency decisions)

VII. Facts & Forms

A. Forms

B. Dictionaries/Glossaries

C. Directories

VIII. Agencies/Organizations

A. United States

B. Global Organizations

  • International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
    http://www.itu.int/home/
  • Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
    http://www.icann.org/
  • Radio-Television News Directors Association & Foundation (RTNDA)
    http://www.rtnda.org/default.asp
    RTNDA is the world's largest professional organization devoted exlcusively to electronic journalism. RTNDA represents local and network news executives in broadcasting, cable and other electronic media in more than 30 countries. The Web site provides general information about the Association and its educational arm. It also provides access to its research results. The more resent research results are available for a fee.
  • World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
    http://www.wipo.org/
  • World Trade Organization (WTO)
    http://www.wto.org/

Revised 1/17/2007 (SK)